


I’m Gonna Make This Place Your Home

by lizardsonline



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Bitty's Valentines, Canon Divergence, Curtain Fic, Fluff, Kids, Light Angst, M/M, Marriage, Mentions of Sex, Moving In Together, Retirement, kent really needs to love himself more, like maybe .2 seconds of it i swear, settling down
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 18:11:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17750942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizardsonline/pseuds/lizardsonline
Summary: Kent set a box down in the foyer with a huff. He and Tater had finally both retired and decided to get a house in Providence together and really settle down. They had done the “fall in love & get married”  thing several years back. Now all they needed was a home, a dog, and 2.5 kids and they would be set living the American suburbia dream. Well, as much as two gay hockey players could.





	I’m Gonna Make This Place Your Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dellessa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dellessa/gifts).



> This was my Valentines Day gift to @dellessanna! it's a little off your request my apologies. i have plans for more chapters but that might not be for a bit as the semester is getting into full swing.
> 
> Follow my tumblr @lizardsonline

 

Kent set a box down in the foyer with a huff. He and Tater had finally both retired and decided to get a house in Providence together and _really_ settle down. They had done the “fall in love & get married”  thing several years back. Now all they needed was a home, a dog, and 2.5 kids and they would be set living the American suburbia dream. Well, as much as two gay hockey players could.

 

The sun was just getting high in the sky, as beams beat down through the skylight. Kent could handle heat after all the years of playing Las Vegas, but he never did enjoy the humidity of east coast summers, even when he was a kid.

 

As he wiped the sweat off his brow, he heard his husband as he stepped through the threshold carrying one end of a very large sectional.

 

“Move Kenny, we are needing to get your oversized couch in!” Tater hollered as he walked backwards through the entryway.

 

“Seriously, this thing is heavy!” Swoops grunted, carrying the other end of the L shaped sectional

 

“Hey, aren’t you two professional athletes?” Kent chided, shoving the boxes they had already carried into the side so as to make way.

 

“Fuck off Parser, lifting a couch is not the same as passing a puck”

 

“Intelligent observation there Troy,” Snowy stood behind both men a decently sized box labeled ‘Bedroom’.  “By the way Tater, I swear to god if what I’m carrying is a box of sex shit you’re gonna pay so many fines.”

 

“Cannot fine if retired!” Tater called out in a sing-song voice from the family room where he and Swoops were setting down the couch. “Besides,” he grinned, returning to the foyer “we already move sex stuff in first.”

Snowy rolled his eyes as he began to climb the staircase to the second floor. “T.M.I. man. T.M.I”

 

Kent smiled to himself observing the scene around him. He never did imagine his life going this way. He never thought he would be allowed to have this: a gorgeous loving husband, a group of supportive  friends whom he was out to, and as of this past season, the ability to retire on his own terms.

 

He had always imagined he would play as long as the league would let him, and then once he was outed by an ex, a hookup, Deadspin or whatever, he would take his hockey money and disappear from the public eye. He didn’t want to be branded as “the gay hockey player” or the _other_ gay hockey player”.

 

But, a lot had changed the year Jack came out on the ice. The media backlash that hit him was harsher than he expected at first: reporters cornering him on his morning run to ask him for his comment or opinion, social media blowing up with pictures of Kent and Jack from the Q he didn’t even know existed, and wilder and wilder speculations being thrown his way through way of news reports and  “investigative reporters” (read: busybodies with no sense of personal space or human decency).

It was all made more difficult by the fact that Jack had not warned him in any way shape or form that he was going to come out on public television in front of thousands of screaming fans right after winning the Stanley Cup. Jack and Kent later spoke about the event at length, with the former apologizing for the lack of communication. But not much could be done at that point. Kent had already been thrown under the metaphorical gay bus.

 

Much to Kent’s surprise however, his organization was willing to support him after all that had happened. His GM, Grant, met him at the gym two days after the fact, saying to him “If there’s something you want to tell me, tell me in your own time, but I’ll make sure the organization is there for you when you do” He came out the next day, posting a picture of Kit sitting in Alexei’s lap (with his permission) with the caption saying _“tfw ur cat ignores u for ur man_ . _”_

 

Kent was quickly brought out of his reminiscent reverie by the force of two children knocking him over. “Liv, Ricky, you’re here earlier than expected. Did your dads let you skip out on camp today to help your Uncle Tater and I move in?”

 

Olivia Marie Bittle-Zimmermann, and  Richard James Bittle-Zimmermann were Jack and Eric’s 5 year old twins. Both had deep brown eyes like their Daddy and the striking dark hair of their Papa. Kent swore they got bigger and bigger every single time he and Alexei saw them.

“Uncle Kenny Uncle Kenny! Daddy’s gonna let me carry boxes,” Olivia squealed in delight, pulling on Kent to get up.

 

“I wanted to go to camp, but I also wanna see Uncle Tater,”  Ricky was only slightly pouting but Kent could tell it was just for show.

 

“Why not me too you little bugger? Favoring Uncle Tater over me?” Kent gasped, in faux offense. Ricky smiled and ran off to find his favorite of the two.

Standing up to his full height, Kent picked up Olivia and popped her onto his side. “What took you two old men so long? We’ve already brought most of the boxes in.”

 

“I’m younger n’ you Kent Parson, so watch your tongue. We got held up.” Eric Bittle Zimmermann stood at the entryway referring to the two sizable pieces of tupperware containing what Kent hoped to be pie. Blueberry for Tater and chocolate mousse for himself. “I’m gonna go set these down before I grab some boxes.”

 

“Kitchen’s that way” Kent pointed down the hall to the left, setting Olivia down. “Why don’t you go help your Uncles carry stuff into the kitchen kiddo?”  

 

Jack walked in a moment later, carrying one of the few boxes left in the truck. It was labeled ‘Kitchen’. “Bits wanted to make sure y’all had pie for when everything was unpacked.”

 

“Lookat you Zimms, using ‘y’all’ like a born and bred southerner”

 

“Haha yeah, after being with Bits so long it just slips out.”

 

“I’ll quit chirping you man, but here, I’ll show you where to take that.” Kent led the way to the kitchen, carrying his own box he had set down earlier.

 

Entering into the kitchen Kent saw Swoops and Snowy sitting criss-cross applesauce on the ground with Olivia and Ricky playing patty cake amongst the assorted boxes. His heart softened at the sight. He really did love those kids as if he were their biological uncle. He set down the box on the counter and walked up to his husband to give him a small kiss. “Hey babe. We’re almost done” Alexei in turn picked Kent up and placed a fat kiss on Kent’s cheek. Both of the twins made a face “Ewww”

 

“Is good. Is getting too hot to lift” Alexei said, putting Kent down.

 

“I swear y’all are so weak, it ain’t even 85 and you’re complaining.” Eric was on the opposite end of the counter, taking plates and silverware out of boxes.

 

“Bits you say that as if you don’t put on a hat and gloves when it’s not even 10 degrees out” Jack chirped from the other end of the kitchen, taking a blender out of the box closest to him.  Eric made a comment under his breath about Jack’s use of Celsius.

 

“Both of you quit unpacking. Lyosha and I can take care of that later. Let’s just pause for a moment and dig into whatever Bits brought. I’m starving”

 

Jack set down the blender and Eric placed the plates down on the counter. “I was gettin them to put the food on.”

 

“C’mon Bitty we can just use our hands” Snowy called from the floor. Ricky was sitting in his lap messing with Snowy’s phone and nodded his head fiercely in agreement.

“Yeah, no need to fuss Eric.” Swoops was right next to him with Olivia in his lap. She was wearing Swoops’ cap backwards and nodding reverently as if to agree.

 

Eric shook his head in disagreement. “I swear once a hockey player, always a hockey player. Y’all are heathens and we are using plates.”

 

“But Daddy!” The twins called simultaneously from the floor.

  
Kent smiled. “C’mon now you two, gotta listen to your Dad, otherwise, he won’t let you have any pie. Even if he is taking the fun out of eating”

 

“Kent V. Parson, I swear!”

 

* * *

 

Later that night after the pie had been eaten and a good percentage of the boxes had been unpacked, Kent sat in bed next to his husband, replaying the events of the day over in his head. The image of the twins running around the house, playing and having fun caused Kent to feel a tinge inside. He wondered what it would be like if they had their own kids. It was the first time he’d given serious thought on the matter. He never allowed himself to imagine having a husband, a house and well, happiness.  But now, he let himself imagine. He imagined tons of kids, smiling, calling him Dad. It made something in him warm, but it also frightened him. Kent had never had a relationship with his father. He didn’t even know the first thing of taking care of kids. Would he even be a good dad?

 

“котенок, you thinking so loud. Keep me up. What is wrong?” Alexei sat up and turned to face Kent in their bed, interrupting his negative train of thought.

 

“Lyosha have you ever thought about...having kids?” Kent sat up and faced his husband.

 

Alexei paused for a moment. “Yes, many times. Did not think could though. Because of-”

 

“Because of the gay thing” Kent cut him off. “But, like if you wanted, well, we’re both retired now. And we have this bigass house. We could adopt a few. Or maybe get a surrogate.”

 

Alexei hummed and pulled Kent into a hug. “I’m liking that idea. We talk more about it tomorrow. It’s been long day.” He kissed Kent and laid back down on the bed.

 

Kent laid back down on the bed and smiled, closing his eyes. Suddenly, he opened one and smirked,  “Hey what’s that thing straight people in movies say when they talk about having kids? ‘Let’s start now?’”

Alexei looked at Kent “Well…”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> once again thank you to my beta readers @bigspicysenpai @satansspikybutthole and @creepergingergirl.   
> Follow my tumblr @lizardsonline


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